Abstract: To understand status of the management basis of a nature reserves, a model for quantitative evaluation of management basis of nature reserves was constructed. The model consists of 9 representative indices, i.e. scope and functional zoning, population density, area of the land under the servitude, type of the management agency, authority level of the management institution, size of the staff, financial budget, funds for ecological preservation and infrastructure. Those indices were selected from the three aspects, i.e. objective conditions, staffing and institutional structure, and finance and facilities.The model was applied to all the nature reserves in Zhejiang Province. Results show that the average nature reserve index(I_NR) of the nature reserves in Zhejiang Province is 64.82, which means their overall management basis is graded as in middle in level. The I_NR of the state-level reserves and most of the province-level reserves are relatively high, but the I_NR of the county-level nature reserves are quite low, indicating that these reserves are weak in management basis. The findings demonstrate that this model can be used to effectively evaluate quantitatively status of the management basis of nature reserves, which may help nature reserve administrators find out weaknesses in their management.